>> JOHN MILLEDGE ACADEMY
In its district opener last Friday, John Milledge Academy (JMA) battled through the rain to beat Stratford Academy 40-6 for its 56th consecutive program win. That total now stands as the nation’s longest, current winning streak in high school football.
Andale (Kan.) had not lost a game since 2018 and had not lost a regular season game since 2016. The Indians entered last Friday’s game against the Cheney (Kan.) Cardinals with a 57-game winning streak intact; however, a 36-30 loss in overtime put the JMA Trojans in the consecutive wins driver’s seat. Nationally, the all-time consecutive-win record is 151, set from 1992 to 2003 by California’s De LaSalle Spartans.
Regardless, JMA head coach J.T. Wall said while it’s a great honor that represents the culmination of many players and many years of effort to reach this record, his current team has bigger and more important goals right now.
“Each one of those guys would tell you that we always like to stay focused on our current opponent and that’s what we are currently doing at this point,” Wall stated.
Javian Butts had a great game Friday to lead a Trojans’ offense that had more than 530 yards of total offense. Butts had a career night, rushing for 282 yards on 23 carries to put him at 1,256 yards rushing on the year. He also made three catches for 31 yards receiving.
Bud Veal also had a great game for the Trojans, rushing for 166 yards and three touchdowns against the Eagles.
JMA’s night did not start strong, however. Due to incoming rain, both teams struggled on offense and exchanged possessions several times before Stratford finally scored a field goal and took a 3-0 lead with just a couple of minutes left in the first quarter.
The Trojans answered with an 80-yard drive, though, capped by a 12-yard rushing touchdown from Javian Butts in the final minute of the quarter. Kicker Jacob Noles added the extra point for a 7-3 JMA lead.
About four minutes into the second quarter, the Trojans’ defense made a big stop on fourth down to take over on offense. By the five-minute mark of the quarter, JMA was up 13-3 after Veal went 20 yards to the endzone but the PAT missed.
The Trojans defense made another stop with three minutes left in the quarter and first half, setting up Veal for a 29-yard touchdown run that led to a 19-3 JMA lead after a failed two-point conversion.
Stratford then put together its second scoring drive of the night, finishing with a long 37-yard field that brought the score to 19-6.
However, upon catching the ensuing kickoff, Javian Butts scored an 80-yard rushing touchdown, followed by another Noles extra point in the final seconds of the first half to make it 26-6 going into halftime.
When play resumed, neither team scored in the third quarter, but the Trojans began to run away with the game on their second possession of the fourth quarter. It led to Veal scoring his third touchdown of the night on a short three-yard run, again followed by the PAT by Noles for a 33-6 JMA lead with five minutes to go.
Within the last few minutes of the game, Javian Butts carried the ball 49 yards to set Jaden Dorsey up for a quick 30-yard touchdown run. After Noles delivered again, the final score was 40-6 as the Trojans took home their seventh victory of the year – and the nation’s longest win streak.
JMA heads to Macon this Friday to play the Vikings of First Presbyterian Day (4-2-1, 1-0 District 6) for its first of two road district matchups and the opportunity to extend an impressive winning streak.